Budget Deal Would Give $1.4 Trillion to Military Over Two Years

Congress was close Thursday to passing a two-year spending deal that would avoid a government shutdown, bust through the budget caps and set defense funding at a total of about $1.42 trillion for fiscal years 2018 and 2019. The deal would solidify the 2.4 percent military pay raise for 2018 that President Donald Trump authorized with an executive order in December but it was unclear as yet what the pay raise proposal would be for 2019. The Defense Department was due to present its fiscal 2019 budget requests on Monday, and Dana White, the Pentagon's chief spokesperson, said Thursday that "relevant" details would be included. In a Thursday morning tweet, Trump praised the tentative deal as "so important for our great Military. It ends the dangerous sequester and gives [Defense Secretary Jim] Mattis what he needs to keep America Great. Republicans and Democrats must support ...